Can't Kill This One

Nashville, TN:  I'm notoriously bad for killing things.  Not actively, mind you, but by not taking care of them.  I've tried having plants on multiple occasions but I will either forget to water them or keep them in my room, which is very dark and cozy, but also means there is no sunlight for them to bask in (note to non-plant people: this is a necessity.  Who knew?).  

Not to make excuses (well, not a TON of them at least), but I'm gone a lot.  When I'm out of town for work or other adventures, it's hard to remember that I need to get back at some point soon and take care of living things that are in my home.  Guess I'll wait on getting the dog I've been dreaming of a while now....

On a separate note, in my dining area, I have a 20' high x 12' wide wall, which is so large, if I had any sort of hanging art work on it, the wall would literally swallow it up.  Also, at the very bottom of the wall, I had a few stains from a mishap with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (they don't mention on the packaging that you're not supposed to use it on flat paint.  Had to find that out via a google search of "why are my walls now darker than usual in the spots I just supposedly cleaned with this freaking product!?").

So I needed to find something that would cover up said stains, plus add a little bit of artistic flare to an otherwise boring, but functional wall.  I went on a craiglist hunt and found a link to April James, a local artist, who does faux finishes and murals, among other things.  Upon deeper investigation, her blog has links to other local bloggers that I read myself.  The connection seemed to be a match waiting to happen!  So, after a few email exchanges and a free in-home consultation, April came over and created a piece of artwork that fit perfectly on my entire wall.  Plus, she gave me the one tree that I simply can't kill!

And now, for the photo shoot:

The wall before it became art...

Helping April hang shelves (and Sheri helping me by taking pictures)...

The beginnings of the tree...

Making the 8' ladder into a 10' ladder by putting one end on chairs (scary to watch!)...

Adding green highlights to the tree and decorative pieces to the shelves...

the finished piece... my own beautiful, artistic, non-killable plant to warm my home...